HR success starts with listening, part 3: Talent development

Zach Morvant1 min read

This is the third part in a series for HR professionals on how to use surveys throughout the employee lifecycle. For even more detailed best practices, tips, and a library of HR-specific survey templates, download our eGuide, Employee feedback for the win.

In our last post, we discussed how you can use feedback to develop a first-class onboarding experience. What’s next? Using feedback for learning and development.

In a way, business performance as a whole boils down to HR. Human resources teams need to find the right talent, give them what they need to flourish, and keep their work on track. If people can’t work comfortably or do their jobs effectively—that’s an HR problem.

There are two things that you can do to keep your workforce successful: tracking performance while providing feedback, and offering programs for development. The best way to understand and improve these? Surveys!

Using surveys for performance assessments

Workers want to know how they’re doing—and they might have ideas about how their teams could work together better, too. Our research found that companies that give their employees regular feedback have 14.9% lower turnover than companies that don’t. That’s because listening to your community lets you highlight their big wins and address their potential concerns or frustrations. Our 360-degree review survey template is a great place to start.

Pro tip: Keep responses anonymous. Confidentiality is key—especially when asking employees to give feedback about their managers. Every voice deserves to be heard, but they need to feel safe first. (You can use our management performance template to get started.)

Creating learning and development programs

Employees are more satisfied with their careers when they have opportunities for professional growth. Not only are workers with these opportunities happier and more motivated—they’re more likely to stay. One study we conducted showed that 48% of people actively looking for a new job don’t see a clear path for themselves at their company.

Workers are ravenous for training and development programs, but they can be an expensive and time-consuming investment. To ensure that employees get support in the areas where they actually want it, use surveys to ask them about what they feel like they need, what they’re interested in trying, and which parts of your existing programs they find the most useful.

Room for growth

This is just the tip of the iceberg on how you can use surveys for learning and development. If you’re interested in: